Established in 2001 and formerly known as the Center of Chinese Teaching for Foreigners of Sichuan University in 1988, the School of Overseas Education, Sichuan University(SCU), is a college devoted to the education of international students. Despite a short history of establishment, as a window and an important base for internationalization of the University, the School has been engaged in the recruitment of and professional education for international students since the mid-1980s, and the scale of international students and the high level of their academic performance are second to none among colleges and universities in the western region of China. In recent years, with the construction and development of the Confucius Institute, the growing number of international students majoring in Chinese language as well as the increasing enrollment of students from multiple countries for different targets and programs, the School of Overseas Education has played an increasingly important and unique role in the internationalization process of SCU.
Presently, the School has established a complete, scientific and characteristic curriculum system, a strict teaching management system and a team of experienced faculty staff. Currently, the School has 42 faculty members, of whom 33 are full-time teachers (including 7 full-time teachers of Confucius Institute) and 9 are administrative staff. Among the 33 full-time teachers, 17 hold senior titles, including 3 professors and 14 associate professors.
In the past three years, the School has cultivated a total of 6,799 international students from over 80 countries and regions. The School delivers 303 courses per year to undergraduate students, students for advanced study as well as short-term exchange students (summer/winter vacation) of exchange programs and Chinese languages classes of SCU.
The School attaches great importance to international cooperation and exchange, and has established solid cooperative relationships with foreign colleges and universities, such as the University of Washington (US), the Arizona State University (US), the University of Tennessee (US), the University of Utah (US), the State University of New York (NY), Woosong University (South Korea), Keimyung University (South Korea), Chung-ang University (South Korea), Dongguk University (South Korea), Lingnam University (South Korea), Hochschule Bremen (Germany), Prince of Songkla University (Thailand), and Hokkaido University of Education (Japan). Furthermore, the School has carried out education and cultural dissemination of summer Chinese programs in more than 50 foreign institutions, including Harvard University, Michigan State University, Polytech Montpellier, Leiden University (Netherlands), Granada University (Spain) and Bashkortostan State Medical University (Russia).
With the orientation of establishing "the preferred destination for international students to study Chinese language and culture with strong western characteristics of China and first-class academic level of Chinese language teaching", based on the comprehensive strength of Sichuan University, and taking Chinese teaching practice as the core for in-depth international promotion of the Chinese language, the School strives to promote the overall improvement of teaching quality, scientific research level and discipline construction. Furthermore, efforts are made to establish the School as a base for learning Chinese language and disseminating Chinese culture with western characteristics of China, first-class academic environment, excellent teaching staff, and a high reputation at home and abroad, thus playing an exemplary role in spreading influence across the western China.
